Video display system and method

ABSTRACT

A system for displaying videos, comprising a processing resource configured to: provide a data repository comprising a plurality of previously captured video segments (PCVSs) captured during previous operations of corresponding platforms, each being associated with metadata indicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by the corresponding platform of the platforms used to capture the corresponding PCVS, with respect to a fixed coordinate system established in space, during capturing the corresponding PCVS; obtain an indication of a Region-of-Interest (RoI); identify one or more of the PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI, utilizing the LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoI matching PCVSs; and display at least part of at least one of the RoI matching PCVSs, being displayed RoI matching PCVSs, on a display of an operating platform to an operator of the operating platform during a current operation of the operating platform.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a video display system and method.

BACKGROUND

A Synthetic Vision System (SVS) is a computer-mediated reality systemfor vehicular platforms (e.g. aerial vehicles, land vehicles, nauticalvehicles), that uses three-dimensions to provide operators of suchplatforms (e.g. pilots, drivers, sailors) with clear and intuitive meansof understanding their environment. Such system is aimed at improvingthe situational awareness of the operators. For this purpose, SVSutilizes information from various data sources, such as Data TerrainModels (DTMs), obstacle information, geographical information,aeronautical information, etc.

In some cases, platforms are equipped with an Enhanced Vision System(EVS) which includes an imaging sensor(s) that can capture real-timevisual information of an imaged scene for display to the operator of theplatform. In such cases, the imaged scene, imaged by the imaging sensorsof the EVS, can be combined with synthetic information generated by theSVS to generate a combined view of the imaged scene.

However, in many cases, platforms do not have an EVS, and in such cases,the situational awareness of the operator of the platform is degraded.Even in cases where an EVS exists, the images captured thereby may be ofpoor quality, e.g. due to weather conditions (e.g. fog, rain, snow,clouds, etc.), light conditions (e.g. dazzling, darkness, shading,etc.), or any other reason.

Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have the ability to usepreviously obtained videos of regions of interest that were acquired byimaging sensors during previous operations of the platform or of anotherplatform. This enables improving situational awareness in platforms thatdo not have an EVS, or in platforms that have an EVS, however due toexternal conditions the quality of the images captures by the EVS'simaging sensor(s) is lower than the quality of the images capturedduring previous operations of the same platform, or of another platform.

There is thus a need in the art for a new video display system andmethod.

References considered to be relevant as background to the presentlydisclosed subject matter are listed below. Acknowledgement of thereferences herein is not to be inferred as meaning that these are in anyway relevant to the patentability of the presently disclosed subjectmatter.

US Patent application No. 2008/0158256 (Russell et al.) published onJul. 3, 2008 discloses a method and system for providing a perspectiveview image created by fusing a plurality of sensor data for supply to aplatform operator with a desired viewing perspective within an area ofoperation is disclosed. A plurality of sensors provide substantiallyreal-time data of an area of operation, a processor combines thesubstantially real-time data of the area of operation with digitalterrain elevation data of the area of operation and positional data of aplatform operator to create a digital cartographic map database havingsubstantially real-real time sensor data, a memory for storing thedigital cartographic map database, a perspective view data unit inputsdata regarding a desired viewing perspective of the operator within thearea of operation with respect to the digital cartographic map databaseto provide a perspective view image of the area of operation, and adisplay for displaying the perspective view image to the operator.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,642,929 (Pinkus et al.) published on Jan. 5, 2010discloses an electromagnetic emissions free optical signal basedhelicopter landing assistance arrangement wherein helicopter rotor washdust cloud-caused obfuscation of the intended landing site and otherlanding threats are overcome. Real time optical sourced data iscollected early and used during helicopter approach to the intendedlanding site. Upgrading of this data for use during dust cloud presenceis accomplished with image processing techniques applied in response tosuch inputs as helicopter flight data. Military use of the inventionespecially in current theatre conflict environments is contemplated.Dust cloud related landing hazards are disclosed as a significantdifficulty in such environments and generate need for the invention.

US Patent application No. 2010/0231418 (Whitlow et al.) published onSep. 16, 2010 discloses systems and methods for displaying informationon a display device associated with an aircraft. A method comprisesrendering a perspective view of terrain on a display device andobtaining sensor data for a sensing region overlapping at least aportion of the viewing region. The method further comprises obtainingtracking data associated with a first object located within the sensingregion and correlating a first portion of the sensor data thatcorresponds to the first object with the tracking data. The methodfurther comprises rendering a graphical representation of the firstobject on the display device, wherein positioning of the graphicalrepresentation of the first object with respect to the terrain isinfluenced by the correlation with first portion of the sensor data.

US Patent application No. 2006/0087452 (Scherbarth) published on Apr.27, 2006 discloses a method and system for supporting pilots in landinghelicopters in visual flight under brownout or whiteout conditions.According to the invention, 3D data of the planned landing site aregenerated during the approach for landing, and are accumulated into a 3Drepresentation of the landing site with the aid of position and attitudedata of the helicopter. From this 3D representation, a virtual externalview is continuously generated corresponding to the perspective of theactual position and attitude of the helicopter and is displayed for thepilot. A control routine ensures that no 3D data of the planned landingsite that are generated under brownout or whiteout conditions are takeninto account in the accumulation of the 3D representation.

US Patent application No. 2017/0345321 (Cross et al.) published on Nov.30, 2017 discloses an imaging system for a moving vehicle aggregatespre-existing data with sensor data to provide an image of thesurrounding environment in real-time. The pre-existing data are combinedwith data from one or more 3-D sensors, and 2-D information from acamera, to create a scene model that is rendered for display. The systemaccepts data from a 3-D sensor, transforms the data into a 3-D datastructure, fuses the pre-existing scene data with the 3-D data structureand 2-D image data from a 2-D sensor to create a combined scene model,and renders the combined scene model for display. The system may alsoweight aspects of data from first and second sensors to select at leastone aspect from the first sensor and another aspect from the secondsensor; wherein fusing the pre-existing scene data with the sensor datauses the selected aspect from the first sensor and the selected aspectfrom the second sensor.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

In accordance with a first aspect of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a system for displaying videos, comprising aprocessing resource configured to: provide a data repository comprisinga plurality of previously captured video segments (PCVSs) capturedduring previous operations of corresponding platforms, wherein each ofthe PCVSs being associated with metadata indicative of a Line-of-Sight(LoS) of a sensor, carried by the corresponding platform of theplatforms used to capture the corresponding PCVS, with respect to afixed coordinate system established in space, during capturing thecorresponding PCVS; obtain an indication of a Region-of-Interest (RoI);identify one or more of the PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI,utilizing the LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoImatching PCVSs; and display at least part of at least one of the RoImatching PCVSs, being displayed RoI matching PCVSs, on a display of anoperating platform to an operator of the operating platform during acurrent operation of the operating platform.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are identified so thatthe at least part of the RoI shown in each of the displayed RoI matchingPCVSs meets a visibility criterion.

In some cases, each of the PCVSs is associated with a respectivevisibility score, indicative of the visibility of the RoI within therespective PCVS, and wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs areassociated with respective visibility scores higher than the visibilityscores of the PCVSs excluding the displayed RoI matching PCVSs.

In some cases, the visibility scores are provided by users.

In some cases, the metadata further comprises operation conditionsindicative of conditions during capturing of the corresponding PCVS, andwherein the processing resource is further configured to obtaininformation of current operation conditions at a current time duringperformance of the current operation, and wherein the RoI matching PCVSsare identified also utilizing the current operation conditions and theoperation conditions.

In some cases, the operation conditions include one or more of thefollowing: a time-of-day at which the corresponding PCVS was captured; adate at which the corresponding PCVS was captured; an identifier of anoperator of the PCVS which operated the platform when the correspondingPCVS was captured; weather conditions at a location on which thecorresponding PCVS was captured and on the time-of-day in which thecorresponding PCVS was captured; or a Head Mounted Display (HMD) LoSdesignation when the corresponding PCVS was captured with respect to thefixed coordinate system established in space.

In some cases, the current operation conditions include one or more ofthe following: a current time-of-day; a current date; an identifier ofan operator of the operating platform; a current LoS of the operatingplatform with respect to the RoI; weather conditions at a currentlocation of the operating platform and a current time of day; or acurrent Head Mounted Display (HMD) LoS designation with respect to thefixed coordinate system established in space.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are adjusted, beforetheir display, to compensate for differences between (a) the current LoSof the operating platform with respect to the RoI and (b) the LoS of thesensor carried by the corresponding platform, used to capture thecorresponding PCVS with respect to the fixed coordinate systemestablished in space.

In some cases, the RoI is determined using information of a navigationroute of the operating platform.

In some cases, the navigation route is pre-determined.

In some cases, the operating platform is an airborne platform, a landvehicle, a sea vehicle, or a mounted platform mounted on a human user.

In some cases, the current operation is landing of the airborneplatform.

In some cases, the RoI matching PCVSs are anchored to earth coordinatesof the RoI.

In some cases, RoI is determined using information of a current HeadMounted Display (HMD) LoS designation of an HMD worn by the operator ofthe operating platform.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed as anoverlay over another video.

In some cases, the processing resource is further configured to: obtainadditional indications of additional RoIs; identify one or more of thePCVSs that include at least part of the additional RoIs, utilizing theLoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to additional RoI matchingPCVSs; and display at least part of the additional RoI matching PCVSs,being additional displayed RoI matching PCVSs, on the display of theoperating platform as additional overlays over the another video.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed blendedwith another video.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed withcomputer generated symbology.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are selected from theRoI matching PCVSs based on preferences of the operator of the operatingplatform.

In some cases, the processing resource is further configured to obtain asimulated LoS with respect to the RoI;

and wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs selected from the RoImatching to PCVSs also utilizing the simulated LoS.

In some cases, the simulated LoS is determined based on an estimation ofa location of the operating platform at a future point in time.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are adjusted, beforetheir display, to compensate for differences between (a) the simulatedLoS of the operating platform with respect to the RoI and (b) theLine-of-Sight (LoS) of the sensor carried by the corresponding platform,used to capture the corresponding PCVS with respect to the fixedcoordinate system established in space.

In some cases, at least one of the PCVSs was captured during previousoperations of the operating platform.

In some cases, at least one of the PCVSs was captured during previousoperations of a given platform other than the operating platform.

In some cases, at least one of the PCVSs is an enhanced PCVS, generatedby combining a first PCVS with at least part of a second PCVS to providethe enhances PCVS having enhanced visibility with respect to the firstPCVS and the second PCVS.

In accordance with a second aspect of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a method for displaying videos, the methodcomprising: providing a data repository comprising a plurality ofpreviously captured video segments (PCVSs) captured during previousoperations of corresponding platforms, wherein each of the PCVSs beingassociated with metadata indicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of asensor, carried by the corresponding platform of the platforms used tocapture the corresponding PCVS, with respect to a fixed coordinatesystem established in space, during capturing the corresponding PCVS;obtaining, by a processing resource, an indication of aRegion-of-Interest (RoI); identifying, by the processing resource, oneor more of the PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI, utilizingthe LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoI matching PCVSs;and displaying, by the processing resource, at least part of at leastone of the RoI matching PCVSs, being displayed RoI matching PCVSs, on adisplay of an operating platform to an operator of the operatingplatform during a current operation of the operating platform.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are identified so thatthe at least part of the RoI shown in each of the displayed RoI matchingPCVSs meets a visibility criterion.

In some cases, each of the PCVSs is associated with a respectivevisibility score, indicative of the visibility of the RoI within therespective PCVS, and wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs areassociated with respective visibility scores higher than the visibilityscores of the PCVSs excluding the displayed RoI matching PCVSs.

In some cases, the visibility scores are provided by users.

In some cases, the metadata further comprises operation conditionsindicative of conditions during capturing of the corresponding PCVS, andwherein the method further comprises obtaining information of currentoperation conditions at a current time during performance of the currentoperation, and wherein the RoI matching PCVSs are identified alsoutilizing the current operation conditions and the operation conditions.

In some cases, the operation conditions include one or more of thefollowing: a time-of-day at which the corresponding PCVS was captured; adate at which the corresponding PCVS was captured; an identifier of anoperator of the PCVS which operated the platform when the correspondingPCVS was captured; weather conditions at a location on which thecorresponding PCVS was captured and on the time-of-day in which thecorresponding PCVS was captured; or a Head Mounted Display (HMD) LoSdesignation when the corresponding PCVS was captured with respect to thefixed coordinate system established in space.

In some cases, the current operation conditions include one or more ofthe following: a current time-of-day; a current date; an identifier ofan operator of the operating platform; a current LoS of the operatingplatform with respect to the RoI; weather conditions at a currentlocation of the operating platform and a current time of day; or acurrent Head Mounted Display (HMD) LoS designation with respect to thefixed coordinate system established in space.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are adjusted, beforetheir display, to compensate for differences between (a) the current LoSof the operating platform with respect to the RoI and (b) the LoS of thesensor carried by the corresponding platform, used to capture thecorresponding PCVS with respect to the fixed coordinate systemestablished in space.

In some cases, the RoI is determined using information of a navigationroute of the operating platform.

In some cases, the navigation route is pre-determined.

In some cases, the operating platform is an airborne platform, a landvehicle, a sea vehicle, or a mounted platform mounted on a human user.

In some cases, the current operation is landing of the airborneplatform.

In some cases, the RoI matching PCVSs are anchored to earth coordinatesof the RoI.

In some cases, the RoI is determined using information of a current HeadMounted Display (HMD) LoS designation of an HMD worn by the operator ofthe operating platform.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed as anoverlay over another video.

In some cases, the method further comprises: obtaining, by theprocessing resource, additional indications of additional RoIs;identifying, by the processing resource, one or more of the PCVSs thatinclude at least part of the additional RoIs, utilizing the LoSsassociated with the PCVSs, giving rise to additional RoI matching PCVSs;and displaying, by the processing resource, at least part of theadditional RoI matching PCVSs, being additional displayed RoI matchingPCVSs, on the display of the operating platform as additional overlaysover the another video.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed blendedwith another video.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed withcomputer generated symbology.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are selected from theRoI matching PCVSs based on preferences of the operator of the operatingplatform.

In some cases, the method further comprises obtaining, by the processingresource, a simulated LoS with respect to the RoI; and wherein thedisplayed RoI matching PCVSs selected from the RoI matching PCVSs alsoutilizing the simulated LoS.

In some cases, the simulated LoS is determined based on an estimation ofa location of the operating platform at a future point in time.

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are adjusted, beforetheir display, to compensate for differences between (a) the simulatedLoS of the operating platform with respect to the RoI and (b) theLine-of-Sight (LoS) of the sensor carried by the corresponding platform,used to capture the corresponding PCVS with respect to the fixedcoordinate system established in space.

In some cases, at least one of the PCVSs was captured during previousoperations of the operating platform.

In some cases, at least one of the PCVSs was captured during previousoperations of a given platform other than the operating platform.

In some cases, at least one of the PCVSs is an enhanced PCVS, generatedby combining a first PCVS with at least part of a second PCVS to providethe enhances PCVS having enhanced visibility with respect to the firstPCVS and the second PCVS.

In accordance with a third aspect of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a system for estimating a position of anoperating platform, the system comprising a processing resourceconfigured to: provide a data repository comprising a plurality ofpreviously captured video segments (PCVSs) captured during previousoperations of corresponding platforms and anchored to earth coordinates,wherein each of the PCVSs being associated with metadata indicative of aLine-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by the corresponding platformof the platforms used to capture the corresponding PCVS, with respect tothe earth coordinates, during capturing the corresponding PCVS; obtainan indication of a Region-of-Interest (RoI) and an image captured by ascene sensing sensor of the operating platform, the image including theRoI; identify one or more of the PCVSs that include at least part of theRoI, utilizing the LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoImatching PCVSs; and determine the position of the operating platform bycomparing the image with at least one frame of at least one of the RoImatching PCVSs.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a method for estimating a position of anoperating platform, the method comprising: providing a data repositorycomprising a plurality of previously captured video segments (PCVSs)captured during previous operations of corresponding platforms andanchored to earth coordinates, wherein each of the PCVSs beingassociated with metadata indicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of asensor, carried by the corresponding platform of the platforms used tocapture the corresponding PCVS, with respect to the earth coordinates,during capturing the corresponding PCVS; obtaining, by a processingresource, an indication of a Region-of-Interest (RoI) and an imagecaptured by a scene sensing sensor of the operating platform, the imageincluding the RoI; identifying, by a processing resource, one or more ofthe PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI, utilizing the LoSsassociated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoI matching PCVSs; anddetermining, by a processing resource, the position of the operatingplatform by comparing the image with at least one frame of at least oneof the RoI matching PCVSs.

In accordance with a fifth aspect of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, thecomputer readable program code, executable by at least one processor ofa computer to perform a method comprising: providing a data repositorycomprising a plurality of previously captured video segments (PCVSs)captured during previous operations of corresponding platforms, whereineach of the PCVSs being associated with metadata indicative of aLine-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by the corresponding platformof the platforms used to capture the corresponding PCVS, with respect toa fixed coordinate system established in space, during capturing thecorresponding PCVS; obtaining, by a processing resource, an indicationof a Region-of-Interest (RoI); identifying, by the processing resource,one or more of the PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI,utilizing the LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoImatching PCVSs; and displaying, by the processing resource, at leastpart of at least one of the RoI matching PCVSs, being displayed RoImatching PCVSs, on a display of an operating platform to an operator ofthe operating platform during a current operation of the operatingplatform.

In accordance with a sixth aspect of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, thecomputer readable program code, executable by at least one processor ofa computer to perform a method comprising: providing a data repositorycomprising a plurality of previously captured video segments (PCVSs)captured during previous operations of corresponding platforms andanchored to earth coordinates, wherein each of the PCVSs beingassociated with metadata indicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of asensor, carried by the corresponding platform of the platforms used tocapture the corresponding PCVS, with respect to the earth coordinates,during capturing the corresponding PCVS; obtaining, by a processingresource, an indication of a Region-of-Interest (RoI) and an imagecaptured by a scene sensing sensor of the operating platform, the imageincluding the RoI; identifying, by a processing resource, one or more ofthe PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI, utilizing the LoSsassociated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoI matching PCVSs; anddetermining, by a processing resource, the position of the operatingplatform by comparing the image with at least one frame of at least oneof the RoI matching PCVSs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to understand the presently disclosed subject matter and to seehow it may be carried out in practice, the subject matter will now bedescribed, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1a is an example of a video frame including a Region of Interest(RoI), captured by a sensor during an operation at poor conditions, inaccordance with the prior art;

FIG. 1b is an example of a video frame including the Region of Interest(RoI) shown in FIG. 1a , captured by a sensor during a previousoperation at better conditions, in accordance with the prior art:

FIG. 2a is an example of blending video frame including a Region ofInterest (RoI) captured by a sensor during an active operation at poorconditions with a video frame including the RoI captured during aprevious operation at better conditions, in accordance with thepresently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 2b is an example of a video frame generated by blending a videoframe including a Region of Interest (RoI) as generated by a SyntheticVision System (SVS), with a video frame including the RoI capturedduring a previous operation, with an addition of a marking of an objectwithin the RoI, in accordance with the presently disclosed subjectmatter;

FIG. 2c is an example of a video frame generated by blending a videoframe including a Region of Interest (RoI) as generated by a SyntheticVision System (SVS), with a video frame including the RoI capturedduring a previous operation, in accordance with the presently disclosedsubject matter:

FIG. 2d is an example of blending video frame including a Region ofInterest (RoI) captured by a sensor of a platform during an activeoperation with a video frame including the RoI from a predicted Line ofSight (LoS) of the platform captured during a previous operation, inaccordance with the presently disclosed subject matter;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are illustrations of adjustment parameters for adjustingvideos captured during previous operations to an active operation, inaccordance with the presently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating one example of avideo display system, in accordance with the presently disclosed subjectmatter:

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one example of a sequence ofoperations carried out for synthesizing videos of a Region of Interest(RoI), in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating one example of a sequence ofoperations carried out for synthesizing videos of a plurality of Regionsof Interest (RoIs), in accordance with the presently disclosed subjectmatter; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating one example of a sequence ofoperations carried out for determining a position of an operatingplatform, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the presentlydisclosed subject matter. However, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the presently disclosed subject matter may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knownmethods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail soas not to obscure the presently disclosed subject matter.

In the drawings and descriptions set forth, identical reference numeralsindicate those components that are common to different embodiments orconfigurations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specificationdiscussions utilizing terms such as “obtaining”, “identifying”,“displaying”, “adjusting” or the like, include action and/or processesof a computer that manipulate and/or transform data into other data,said data represented as physical quantities, e.g. such as electronicquantities, and/or said data representing the physical objects. Theterms “computer”. “processor”, “processing resource” and “controller”should be expansively construed to cover any kind of electronic devicewith data processing capabilities, including, by way of non-limitingexample, a personal desktop/laptop computer, a server, a computingsystem, a communication device, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a smarttelevision, a processor (e.g. digital signal processor (DSP), amicrocontroller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.), a group of multiple physicalmachines sharing performance of various tasks, virtual serversco-residing on a single physical machine, any other electronic computingdevice, and/or any combination thereof.

The operations in accordance with the teachings herein may be performedby a computer specially constructed for the desired purposes or by ageneral-purpose computer specially configured for the desired purpose bya computer program stored in a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium. The term “non-transitory” is used herein to exclude transitory,propagating signals, but to otherwise include any volatile ornon-volatile computer memory technology suitable to the application.

As used herein, the phrase “for example,” “such as”, “for instance” andvariants thereof describe non-limiting embodiments of the presentlydisclosed subject matter. Reference in the specification to “one case”,“some cases”, “other cases” or variants thereof means that a particularfeature, structure or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment(s) is included in at least one embodiment of the presentlydisclosed subject matter. Thus, the appearance of the phrase “one case”,“some cases”, “other cases” or variants thereof does not necessarilyrefer to the same embodiment(s).

It is appreciated that, unless specifically stated otherwise, certainfeatures of the presently disclosed subject matter, which are, forclarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also beprovided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures of the presently disclosed subject matter, which are, forbrevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also beprovided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

In embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, fewer, moreand/or different stages than those shown in FIGS. 5-7 may be executed.In embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter one or morestages illustrated in FIGS. 5-7 may be executed in a different orderand/or one or more groups of stages may be executed simultaneously. FIG.4 illustrates a general schematic of the system architecture inaccordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subject matter.Each module in FIG. 4 can be made up of any combination of software,hardware and/or firmware that performs the functions as defined andexplained herein. The modules in FIG. 4 may be centralized in onelocation or dispersed over more than one location. In other embodimentsof the presently disclosed subject matter, the system may comprisefewer, more, and/or different modules than those shown in FIG. 4.

Any reference in the specification to a method should be applied mutatismutandis to a system capable of executing the method and should beapplied mutatis mutandis to a non-transitory computer readable mediumthat stores instructions that once executed by a computer result in theexecution of the method.

Any reference in the specification to a system should be applied mutatismutandis to a method that may be executed by the system and should beapplied mutatis mutandis to a non-transitory computer readable mediumthat stores instructions that may be executed by the system.

Any reference in the specification to a non-transitory computer readablemedium should be applied mutatis mutandis to a system capable ofexecuting the instructions stored in the non-transitory computerreadable medium and should be applied mutatis mutandis to method thatmay be executed by a computer that reads the instructions stored in thenon-transitory computer readable medium.

Bearing this in mind, attention is drawn to FIG. 1a , an example of avideo frame including a Region of Interest (RoI), captured by a sensorduring an operation at poor conditions, in accordance with the priorart. The video frame 10 shown in FIG. 1a shows a scenery (including anairport with several runways) captured by a camera and displayed to apilot of an aircraft approaching landing in poor weather conditions.Clearly viewing a video captured at poor weather conditions does not aidthe pilot's situational awareness. FIG. 1b on the other hand is anexample of a video frame 12 including the same RoI shown in FIG. 1a ,captured by a sensor at a past time during a previous operation atbetter conditions (better than those in which the video frame 10 shownin FIG. 1a was captured), in accordance with the prior art. Clearly, thesituational awareness of a pilot presented with video frame 12 is muchbetter than the situational awareness of a pilot presented with thevideo frame 10 of FIG. 1a . Accordingly, viewing a video that wascaptured during a previous operation at better conditions, will resultin improved situational awareness for the pilot. Hence, it is desirableto have the ability to display such previously captured videos to pilotsduring active flights, to improve their situational awareness.

It is to be noted that when reference is made herein to an operation, itmeans an activity period starting when a platform leaves a sourcelocation and ending when the platform reaches its destination location.For an aircraft, an operation can start at takeoff and end at landing.For a nautical vehicle an operation can start when it leaves a sourceport and end when it reaches a destination port. For a land vehicle, anoperation can start when it starts driving from a parking space at asource location, and end when it parks at a parking space at adestination location.

According to the presently disclosed subject matter, there is provided asystem and a method for presenting past videos of a scenein-front/instead/blended with standard SVS, or in-front/instead/blendedwith Enhanced Vision System (EVS) video and/or with related symbology,as further detailed herein.

Accordingly, when looking at the example shown at FIG. 1a , instead ofdisplaying the video captured by the sensor of the aircraft at realtime, when the aircraft is flying at bad weather conditions, the systemin accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter can displayanother video captured at better weather conditions, such as the framefrom a video shown on FIG. 1 b.

Additionally, or alternatively, the system in accordance with thepresently disclosed subject matter can blend a video captured by thesensor of the aircraft at real time during bad weather conditions, withanother video captured at better weather conditions, as shown on FIG. 2a, where the video frame 10 of FIG. 1a is blended with video frame 12 ofFIG. 1 b.

Additionally, or alternatively, the system in accordance with thepresently disclosed subject matter can enhance SVS bymarking/emphasizing various objects, as shown in FIG. 2b , where an SVS20 is shown, blended with a previously captured video 22, in which anobject 24 is emphasized by marking it with a triangle on the previouslycaptured video 22.

Additionally, or alternatively, the system in accordance with thepresently disclosed subject matter can blend a video frame 38 includinga Region of Interest (RoI) as generated by a Synthetic Vision System(SVS), with a video frame 37 including the RoI captured during aprevious operation (unlike standard Combined Vision Systems (CVSs) whichdo not use videos captured during previous operations but utilize realtime videos instead), with an addition of a marking of objects 36 (inthe illustrated example—two runways of an airport) within the RoI, asshown, for example, in FIG. 2 c.

Additionally, or alternatively, the system in accordance with thepresently disclosed subject matter can blend a video frame 40 includinga Region of Interest (RoI) captured by a sensor of a platform during anactive operation with a video frame 42 including the RoI from apredicted Line of Sight (LoS) of the platform as captured during aprevious operation, as shown, for example, in FIG. 2 d.

It is to be noted that although reference is made in the description toaircrafts, the presently disclosed subject matter is by no means thuslimited, and it can be applied to any other platform, including anairborne platform, a land vehicle, a sea vehicle, a mounted platformmounted on a human user, or any other platform, mutatis mutandis.

According to the presently disclosed subject matter, as further detailedherein, a data repository is provided, comprising a plurality ofpreviously captured video segments (PCVSs) captured during previousoperations of platforms. Each of the PCVSs is associated with metadataindicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by thecorresponding platform of the platforms used to capture thecorresponding PCVS, with respect to a fixed coordinate systemestablished in space (e.g. earth coordinates), during capturing thecorresponding PCVS. The LoS can define a position and/or an orientationof the platform with respect to the fixed coordinate system.

When using the system according to the presently disclosed subjectmatter, it is desirable to adjust any PCVS that is displayed to anoperator of an operating platform (a platform that is currently moving)to a LoS of the operating platform with respect to the fixed coordinatesystem established in space. Such adjustment is aimed at displaying thePCVSs as if they were captured from the same LoS of the operatingplatform with respect to the fixed coordinate system established inspace. Having the information of the LoS of the sensor of the platformused to capture the PCVSs can be used for selecting the PCVSs thatinclude the RoI of the operating platform, and for adjusting theselected PCVSs to the LoS of the operating platform, as further detailedherein. It is to be noted that in some cases the selection of the PCVSscan be based on a prioritization algorithm, e.g. based on visibility ofthe RoI within the PCVSs.

Accordingly, assuming that a pilot of an operating aircraft approacheslanding during bad weather conditions which result in bad visibility ofthe runway on which the aircraft is to land, the presently disclosedsystem can select one or more of the PCVSs that include the runways in amanner that enables adjusting the PCVSs to the LoS of the landingaircraft, so that the situational awareness of the pilot of the landingaircraft will be improved due to the fact that the PCVSs that aredisplayed to the pilot were captured at better weather conditions andthey provide better visibility of the runways.

In some cases, when the operating aircraft has a SVS, the PCVSs that areselected and adjusted can be displayed to the pilot of the operatingaircraft as an overlay on top of the SVS, or by blending the PCVSs withthe SVS video, or by displaying the PCVSs in a sub-portion of a screenof the SVS.

Additionally, or alternatively, in case the operating aircraft has anEVS that displays a real-time video generated by a sensor (e.g. acamera, a radar) in real time, the PCVSs that are selected and adjustedcan be displayed to the pilot of the operating aircraft blended with thereal-time video, optionally also blended with SVS if available.

Attention is drawn to FIGS. 3a and 3b , both illustrating adjustmentparameters for adjusting videos captured during previous operations toan active operation, in accordance with the presently disclosed subjectmatter.

FIG. 3a shows a first aircraft A/C 1 and a first path thereof during aprevious flight towards landing in a Region of Interest (ROI), and asecond aircraft A/C 2, and a second path thereof (which is its plannedpath for landing, which is clearly different than the first path of A/C1) during an active flight towards landing in the same ROI. A/C 1captured one of the PCVSs during its landing. In order for such PCVS tobe displayed to a pilot of A/C 2 it needs to be adjusted, both in termsof time, and LoS. Assuming that the PCVS acquired by A/C 1 begins attime t₀ before landing, and that A/C 2 is currently at time t₁ beforelanding, while t₁ is smaller than t₀, only a certain portion of the PCVSshould be displayed, namely the portion that starts t₀-t₁ from thebeginning of the PCVS (assuming that the speeds of A/C 1 and A/C 2 aresubstantially identical). In addition to the time adjustment, the PCVSis captured from positions and orientations of A/C 1 with respect to theROI that are different than the positions and orientations of A/C 2 withrespect to the ROI. Accordingly, the PCVS needs to be adjusted tocompensate for such differences. FIG. 3b shows the same elements asshown in FIG. 3a , with an addition of an estimation of a futureposition of A/C 2. The required adjustments are similar, but they arebased on the estimated future position of A/C 2, instead of its currentposition. It is to be noted that in some cases, speed adjustment canalso be made, taking into account the speed of A/C 1 during capturingthe PCVS and the real time speed of A/C 2.

Turning to FIG. 4, there is shown a block diagram schematicallyillustrating one example of a video display system, in accordance withthe presently disclosed subject matter.

According to certain examples of the presently disclosed subject matter,an operating platform 200 (e.g. an aerial vehicle, a land vehicle, anautical vehicle) comprises system 205. System 205 comprises, or beotherwise associated with, a data repository 270 (e.g. a database, astorage system, a memory including Read Only Memory—ROM, Random AccessMemory—RAM, or any other type of memory, etc.) configured to store data,including inter alia a plurality of previously captured video segments(PCVSs) captured during previous operations of platforms and metadataassociated therewith. Each of the PCVSs is associated with metadataindicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor (e.g. a camera, a radar,etc.), carried by the corresponding platform of the platforms used tocapture the corresponding PCVS, with respect to a fixed coordinatesystem established in space (e.g. earth coordinates), during capturingthe corresponding PCVS. The LoS can define a position and/or anorientation with respect to the fixed coordinate system established inspace. It is to be noted that the position can be derived frommeasurements of the platform (e.g. from a position determination systemof the platform) or of the sensor itself (e.g. from a positiondetermination system of the sensor). It is to be further noted that ifthe sensor is gimbled, the orientation depends on the platform and onthe sensor, whereas if the sensor is not gimbled, the orientationdepends on the platform only.

In some cases, the data repository 270 can store PCVSs that are relevantfor a planned operation of the platform. In such cases, the PCVSs thatare relevant for the planned operation of the platform are identified inaccordance with the platform's planned route, so that only those PCVSsthat include ROIs that are on the planned route (or viewable by anoperator of the operating platform from the planned route), or a subsetthereof, are stored on the data repository 270. In such cases, suchPCVSs can be selected and copied from an external data repository (notshown), external to the operating platform, that stores a larger set ofPCVSs.

In some cases, at least one of the PCVSs stored in the data repository270 was captured during previous operations of the operating platform200. In some cases, at least one of the PCVSs stored in the datarepository 270 was captured during previous operations of anotherplatform other than the operating platform 200.

In some cases, at least one of the PCVSs stored in the data repository270 is an enhanced PCVS, generated by combining a first PCVS with atleast part of a second PCVS to provide the enhances PCVS having enhancedvisibility with respect to the first PCVS and the second PCVS. Forexample, assuming that the first PCVS includes a certain section inwhich a cloud appears covering parts of frames forming the first PCVS,negatively affecting the visibility of the first PCVS. In such case,those parts of frames forming the first PCVS that include the cloud canbe replaced with identical parts of frames (whether originallyidentical, or adjusted by suitable computerized algorithms) of a one ormore second PCVS in which no cloud is shown, thereby improving theoverall visibility of the first PCVS (that is, after this processing,the enhanced PCVS).

Data repository 270 can be further configured to enable retrieval and/orupdate and/or deletion of the stored data. It is to be noted that insome cases, data repository 270 can be distributed, while the system 205has access to the information stored thereon, including at least thePCVSs.

System 205 further comprises one or more LoS determination sensors 210,or be otherwise associated with one or more LoS determination sensors210 of the operating platform 200, that can be used to determine a LoSof the operating platform 200 with respect to a fixed coordinate systemestablished in space. The LoS can define a position and/or anorientation of the operating platform 200 with respect to the fixedcoordinate system established in space (e.g. earth coordinates). The LoScan be used in PCVS selection processes as further detailed herein.

System 205 can optionally further comprise one or more scene sensingsensors 220 (e.g. cameras, radars, or any other sensor that can acquirereadings of the scene viewable thereby), or be otherwise associated withone or more scene sensing sensor 220 of the operating platform 200. Insuch cases, videos captured by the scene sensing sensors 220 can beadded to the pool of PCVSs upon completion of an active operation of theoperating platform. In such cases, the information determined by the LoSdetermination sensors 210 can be utilized as metadata indicative of theLoS of the operating platform 200 during acquisition of the video(captured by the scene sensing sensors 220) that is to be added into thepool of PCVSs.

System 205 further comprises one or more processing resources 230.Processing resource 230 can be one or more processing units (e.g.central processing units), microprocessors, microcontrollers or anyother computing devices or modules, including multiple and/or paralleland/or distributed processing units, which are adapted to independentlyor cooperatively process data for controlling relevant system 205resources and for enabling operations related to system 205 resources.

The processing resource 230 can comprise a video display module 240and/or a position determination module 250. According to some examplesof the presently disclosed subject matter, video display module 240 canbe configured to perform a video generation process, as further detailedherein, inter alia with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6.

According to some examples of the presently disclosed subject matter,position determination module 250 can be configured to perform aposition determination process 500, as further detailed herein, interalia with respect to FIG. 7.

Having described the system 205, attention is drawn to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 isa flowchart illustrating one example of a sequence of operations carriedout for synthesizing videos of a Region of Interest (RoI), in accordancewith the presently disclosed subject matter.

According to some examples of the presently disclosed subject matter,system 205, associated with a given operating platform 200, can beconfigured to perform a video generation process 300, e.g. utilizing thevideo display module 240. For this purpose, system 205 can be configuredto provide a data repository (e.g. data repository 270) comprising aplurality of previously captured video segments (PCVSs) captured duringprevious operations of corresponding platforms (block 310). Each of thePCVSs stored in the data repository 270 is associated with metadataindicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by thecorresponding platform of the platforms used to capture thecorresponding PCVS, with respect to a fixed coordinate systemestablished in space (e.g. earth coordinates), during capturing thecorresponding PCVS.

System 205 obtains an indication of a given Region of Interest (RoI)(block 320). The indication can be obtained from an operator of theoperating platform 200, that can be a human operator or a computerizedentity having control over at least part of the operation of theoperating platform 200. In some cases, the RoI is determined usinginformation of a current Head Mounted Display (HMD) LoS designation ofan HMD worn by a human operator of the operating platform.Alternatively, the RoI can be automatically determined using informationof a navigation route (that can optionally be pre-determined) of theoperating platform 200, so that the RoI is, for example, a certainpre-defined area at a certain distance and angle with respect to theposition of the operating platform 200 in the navigation route. It is tobe noted that the RoI is an area that is of interest to the operator ofthe operating platform 20, whether it is currently visible thereto, orit will become visible thereto in the future during the active operationof the platform.

System 205 is further configured to identify one or more of the PCVSsthat include at least part of the RoI, utilizing the LoSs associatedwith the PCVSs (block 330). Having knowledge of the position andorientation from which each PCVS was captured, can enable determiningthe geographical area covered thereby. This enables identifying PCVSsthat include the RoI as indicated by the indication obtained at block320. Those PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI are referred toherein as RoI matching PCVSs.

System 205 displays at least part of at least one of the RoI matchingPCVSs on a display (e.g. a see-through display, a monitor, a head-updisplay, a down display, or any other display capable of displaying theRoI matching PCVSs) of the operating platform 200 to an operator of theoperating platform 200 during a current operation of the operatingplatform 200 (block 340). The RoI matching PCVSs that include thedisplayed parts are referred to herein as displayed RoI matching PCVSs.

The displayed RoI matching PCVSs can optionally be displayed as anoverlay, over another video, such as an SVS generated video or an EVSgenerated video. In some cases, the overlay can be over a part of thedisplay on which the other video is displayed. Additionally, oralternatively, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs can be blended withanother video, such as an SVS generated video or an EVS generated video.Additionally. or alternatively, the system 205 can addcomputer-generated symbology over the displayed RoI matching PCVSs, e.g.for emphasizing objects shown in the displayed RoI matching PCVSs. Incases the displayed RoI matching PCVSs is blended with another video,the system 205 can optionally mark the displayed RoI matching PCVSs in amanner that will enable an operator of the operating platform 200 todistinguish between the PCVSs and the other video.

In some cases, when the platform is airborne, the current operationduring which the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed to a pilotof landing of the airborne platform. In such cases, and optionally inother cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs can be anchored (e.g.using known methods and/or techniques) to earth coordinates so thatlanding the airborne platform is based on anchored data. Having PCVSsthat are anchored can also enable autonomous landing of the airborneplatform. Clearly in some cases, autonomous platforms rely on sensordata for its operation. In cases that the real-time sensor data isacquired at conditions that effect its quality, it may be desirable touse data acquired in the past at conditions that provide data of abetter quality (e.g. data that enables more accurate or safer navigationof the platform than the real-time sensor data).

In some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are manually selectedout of the RoI matching PCVSs, e.g. by an operator of the operatingplatform 200. Additionally. or alternatively, the displayed RoI matchingPCVSs are identified so that the at least part of the RoI shown in eachof the displayed RoI matching PCVSs meets a visibility criterion. Insome cases, the visibility criteria can be a measure of the distance atwhich an object or light can be clearly discerned in the RoI matchingPCVS. Accordingly, the system 205 may be configured to select the RoImatching PCVSs that provide the best visibility, thereby maximizing thesituational awareness of the operator of the operating platform 200.

In some cases, each of the PCVSs is associated with a respectivevisibility score (as part of the metadata associated with each PCVS inthe data repository 270), indicative of the visibility of the RoI withinthe respective PCVS. In such cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs areassociated with respective visibility scores higher than the visibilityscores of the PCVSs excluding the displayed RoI matching PCVSs.

The visibility scores referred to herein can be automaticallydetermined, e.g. by suitable algorithms. In other cases, the visibilityscores can be provided by a human operator that manually evaluates thePCVSs before they are entered into the data repository 270 (e.g. as partof the process of entering such PCVSs to the pool of available PCVSs).

In some cases, the metadata associated with each of the PCVSs canfurther comprise operation conditions indicative of conditions duringcapturing of the corresponding PCVS. In such cases, the system 205 canbe further configured to obtain information of current operationconditions at a current time during performance of the current operationby the operating platform 200, and identify the RoI matching PCVSs atblock 330 also utilizing the current operation conditions of theoperating platform 200 and the operation conditions indicative of theconditions during capturing of the PCVSs.

The operation conditions during capturing of the corresponding PCVS caninclude one or more of: a time-of-day at which the corresponding PCVSwas captured; a date at which the corresponding PCVS was captured; anidentifier of an operator of the PCVS which operated the platform whenthe corresponding PCVS was captured; weather conditions at the locationand time-of-day in which the corresponding PCVS was captured; or a HeadMounted Display (HMD) LoS designation when the corresponding PCVS wascaptured with respect to the fixed coordinate system established inspace.

The current operation conditions of the operating platform 200 caninclude one or more of the following: a current time-of-day; a currentdate; an identifier of an operator of the operating platform; a currentLoS of the operating platform with respect to the RoI; weatherconditions at the current location of the operating platform and currenttime of day; or a current Head Mounted Display (HMD) LoS designationwith respect to the fixed coordinate system established in space.

When utilizing the current operation conditions of the operatingplatform 200 and the operation conditions indicative of the conditionsduring capturing of the PCVSs, identification of the RoI matching PCVSscan be more accurate, and further enhance the situational awareness ofthe operator of the operating platform 200. For example, havinginformation of a time-of-day during capturing the PCVSs and a currenttime-of-day can enable identifying PCVSs that were captured at similartimes-of-day, so that when the current time-of-day indicates that thereis daylight, the system 205 can identify those PCVSs that were capturedduring daylight for display to the operator of the operating platform200. Similarly, having information of the operator of the operatingplatform 200 can enable, for example, preferring PCVSs that werecaptured by platforms operated by the same operator (that ispsychologically expected to behave similarly to the current behavior),or the displayed RoI matching PCVSs can be selected from the RoImatching PCVSs based on preferences of such operator (e.g. time in daypreferences of the pilot which indicate a preferred time of day in whichthe displayed RoI matching PCVSs were captured—affecting the brightnessof the display, a preference relating to display of obstacles indicatingif the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed along with obstaclesinformation of obstacles around the runway or just the runway itself,etc.). Still further, having information of a current LoS (andoptionally a current LoS designation of a HMD) can enable, for example,preferring PCVSs associated with LoSs (and optionally designated LoSsdesignated by the HMD during capturing such PCVSs) that are similar tothe current LoS.

In some cases, the system 205 can be configured to obtain, in additionto the RoI, an indication of a simulated LoS with respect to the RoI,simulating a position and/or an orientation of the operating platform,or a scene sensing sensor 220 thereof, with respect to the RoI (based onthe RoI's coordinates in the fixed coordinate system established inspace). The simulated LoS can enable zooming in towards the RoI.Additionally. or alternatively the simulated LoS can be indicative ofpredicted/estimated future positions and/or orientations of theoperating platform, or the scene sensing sensor 220 thereof, withrespect to the RoI. In such cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs,displayed at block 340, can be selected from the RoI matching PCVSs alsoutilizing the simulated LoS, so that RoI matching PCVSs that areassociated with LoSs that are similar to the simulated LoS are preferredover other RoI matching PCVSs.

It is to be noted that having the ability to “navigate” in time assuggested herein can improve the ability of the operator of theoperating platform 200 to make educated decisions based on a predictionof visual information (that is based itself on visual informationacquired during previous operations—the PCVSs) that the operator of theoperating platform is expected to see in a future point in time. Thiscan enable better maneuvering of the operating platform 200, based onvisual information. This can also enable selecting navigation routes,flare guidance, etc.

As indicated herein, in some cases, the displayed RoI matching PCVSs areadjusted by the system 205, before their display, to compensate fordifferences between the current (or predicted) LoS of the operatingplatform with respect to the RoI (based on the RoI's coordinates in thefixed coordinate system established in space) and the LoS of the sensorcarried by the corresponding platform and used to capture thecorresponding PCVS, with respect to the fixed coordinate systemestablished in space. The compensation is further explained withreference to FIGS. 3a and 3b . The goal of the adjustment is to adjustthe PCVSs to the current (or predicted) position and/or orientation ofthe operating platform 200 with respect to the fixed coordinate systemestablished in space, so that they will appear as if they were capturedfrom the same position and/or orientation with respect to the fixedcoordinate system established in space.

It is to be noted that in some cases, when the PCVSs are anchored (e.g.to earth coordinates), comparison of frames of the PCVSs with currentframes acquired by a scene sensing sensor 220 of the operating platform200 can enable determining its location with respect to earthcoordinates.

It is to be further noted that in some cases, the PCVSs can be used foradding synthetic information to a display of a SVS displaying real-timedata and/or for manipulating synthetic information displayed on adisplay of a SVS. For example, the PCVSs can be analyzed to identifyobstacles (e.g. by video/image analysis), and the results of suchanalysis can be used for adding information of unknown obstacles thatare not marked on an obstacles database used by the SVS, and/or forupdating properties of the obstacles if they do exist on the obstaclesdatabase used by the SVS, but require updating (e.g. adjusting theirposition/size/shape parameters, etc.). Accordingly, the PCVSs that areobtained during previous operations can be used by real-time systemsthat generate synthetic data for improving such real-time systems'performance (accuracy, reliability, etc.).

It is to be still further noted that, with reference to FIG. 5, some ofthe blocks can be integrated into a consolidated block or can be brokendown to a few blocks and/or other blocks may be added. Furthermore, insome cases, the blocks can be performed in a different order thandescribed herein (for example, block 320 can be performed before block310, etc.). It is to be further noted that some of the blocks areoptional. It should be also noted that whilst the flow diagram isdescribed also with reference to the system elements that realizes them,this is by no means binding, and the blocks can be performed by elementsother than those described herein.

Turning to FIG. 6, a flowchart illustrating one example of a sequence ofoperations carried out for synthesizing videos of a plurality of Regionsof Interest (RoIs), in accordance with the presently disclosed subjectmatter, is shown.

According to some examples of the presently disclosed subject matter,system 205, associated with a given operating platform 200, can beconfigured to perform a multi-RoI video generation process 400, e.g.utilizing the video display module 240. The multi-RoI video generationprocess 400 is similar to video generation process 300, but it is aimedat overlaying PCVSs over a plurality of RoIs shown in a video displayedto an operator of the operating platform 200. For this purpose, system205 can be configured to obtain additional indications of additionalRoIs, in addition to the indication of the RoI obtained at block 320(block 410).

Based on the obtained additional indications, system 205 identifies oneor more of the PCVSs that include at least part of the additional RoIs,utilizing the LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to additionalRoI matching PCVSs, additional to the RoI matching PCVSs identified atblock 330 (block 420).

System 205 further displays at least part of the additional RoI matchingPCVSs, being additional displayed RoI matching PCVSs (in addition to thedisplayed RoI matching PCVSs displayed at block 340), on the display ofthe operating platform 200 as additional overlays over another videodisplayed on the display (e.g. an SVS generated video or an EVSgenerated video) (block 430).

Accordingly, an operator of the operating platform 200 can designate aplurality of RoIs, and receive as output on a display, PCVSs thatimprove the operator's situational awareness.

It is to be noted that, with reference to FIG. 6, some of the blocks canbe integrated into a consolidated block or can be broken down to a fewblocks and/or other blocks may be added. It is to be further noted thatsome of the blocks are optional. It should be also noted that whilst theflow diagram is described also with reference to the system elementsthat realizes them, this is by no means binding, and the blocks can beperformed by elements other than those described herein.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating one example of a sequence ofoperations carried out for determining a position of an operatingplatform, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter.

According to some examples of the presently disclosed subject matter,system 205, associated with a given operating platform 200, can beconfigured to perform a position determination process 500, e.g.utilizing the position determination module 250. For this purpose,system 205 can be configured to provide a data repository (e.g. datarepository 270) comprising a plurality of previously captured videosegments (PCVSs) captured during previous operations of correspondingplatforms and anchored to earth coordinates (block 510). Each of thePCVSs stored in the data repository 270 is associated with metadataindicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by thecorresponding platform of the platforms used to capture thecorresponding PCVS, with respect to earth coordinates, during capturingthe corresponding PCVS.

System 205 obtains an indication of a given Region of Interest (RoI) andan image captured by a scene sensing sensor 220 of the operatingplatform 200, the image including the RoI (block 520). The indicationcan be obtained from an operator of the operating platform 200, that canbe a human operator or a computerized entity having control over atleast part of the operation of the operating platform 200. In somecases, the RoI is determined using information of a current Head MountedDisplay (HMD) LoS designation of an HMD worn by a human operator of theoperating platform. Alternatively, the RoI can be automaticallydetermined using information of a navigation route (that can optionallybe pre-determined) of the operating platform 200, so that the RoI is,for example, a certain pre-defined area at a certain distance and anglewith respect to the position of the operating platform 200 in thenavigation route. It is to be noted that the RoI is an area that is ofinterest to the operator of the operating platform 200, whether it iscurrently visible thereto, or it will become visible thereto in thefuture during the active operation of the platform.

System 205 is further configured to identify one or more of the PCVSsthat include at least part of the RoI, utilizing the LoSs associatedwith the PCVSs (block 530). Having knowledge of the position andorientation from which each PCVS was captured, can enable determiningthe geographical area covered thereby. This enables identifying PCVSsthat include the RoI as indicated by the indication obtained at block320. Those PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI are referred toherein as RoI matching PCVSs.

System 205 utilizes at least one frame of at least one of the RoImatching PCVSs determine a position of the operating platform 200 bycomparing the image obtained at block 520 with at least one frame of atleast one PCVS (block 540). Due to fact that the PCVSs are anchored toearth coordinates, comparing them with an image acquired from anunknown, or an inaccurate, position can enable determining the positionfrom which the image was captured with respect to earth coordinates.This can enable validating Global Positioning System (GPS) readings,and/or determining a position of the operating platform 200 without aGPS at all.

It is to be noted that, with reference to FIG. 7, some of the blocks canbe integrated into a consolidated block or can be broken down to a fewblocks and/or other blocks may be added. Furthermore, in some cases, theblocks can be performed in a different order than described herein (forexample, block 520 can be performed before block 510, etc.). It shouldbe also noted that whilst the flow diagram is described also withreference to the system elements that realizes them, this is by no meansbinding, and the blocks can be performed by elements other than thosedescribed herein.

It is to be understood that the presently disclosed subject matter isnot limited in its application to the details set forth in thedescription contained herein or illustrated in the drawings. Thepresently disclosed subject matter is capable of other embodiments andof being practiced and carried out in various ways. Hence, it is to beunderstood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are forthe purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Assuch, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception uponwhich this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis fordesigning other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out theseveral purposes of the present presently disclosed subject matter.

It will also be understood that the system according to the presentlydisclosed subject matter can be implemented, at least partly, as asuitably programmed computer. Likewise, the presently disclosed subjectmatter contemplates a computer program being readable by a computer forexecuting the disclosed method. The presently disclosed subject matterfurther contemplates a machine-readable memory tangibly embodying aprogram of instructions executable by the machine for executing thedisclosed method.

1. A system for displaying videos, comprising a processing resourceconfigured to: provide a data repository comprising a plurality ofpreviously captured video segments (PCVSs) captured during previousoperations of corresponding platforms, wherein each of the PCVSs beingassociated with metadata indicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of asensor, carried by the corresponding platform of the platforms used tocapture the corresponding PCVS, with respect to a fixed coordinatesystem established in space, during capturing the corresponding PCVS;obtain an indication of a Region-of-interest (RoI); identify one or moreof the PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI, utilizing the LoSsassociated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoI matching PCVSs; anddisplay at least part of at least one of the RoI matching PCVSs, beingdisplayed RoI matching PCVSs, on a display of an operating platform toan operator of the operating platform during a current operation of theoperating platform.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the displayed RoImatching PCVSs are identified so that the at least part of the RoI shownin each of the displayed RoI matching PCVSs meets a visibilitycriterion.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the PCVSs isassociated with a respective visibility score, indicative of thevisibility of the RoI within the respective PCVS, and wherein thedisplayed RoI matching PCVSs are associated with respective visibilityscores higher than the visibility scores of the PCVSs excluding thedisplayed RoI matching PCVSs.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein thevisibility scores are provided by users.
 5. The system of claim 1,wherein the metadata further comprises operation conditions indicativeof conditions during capturing of the corresponding PCVS, and whereinthe processing resource is further configured to obtain information ofcurrent operation conditions at a current time during performance of thecurrent operation, and wherein the RoI matching PCVSs are identifiedalso utilizing the current operation conditions and the operationconditions.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the operation conditionsinclude one or more of the following: a. a time-of-day at which thecorresponding PCVS was captured; b. a date at which the correspondingPCVS was captured, c. an identifier of an operator of the PCVS whichoperated the platform when the corresponding PCVS was captured; d.weather conditions at a location on which the corresponding PCVS wascaptured and on the time-of-day in which the corresponding PCVS wascaptured; or e. a Head Mounted Display (HMD) LoS designation when thecorresponding PCVS was captured with respect to the fixed coordinatesystem established in space.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein thecurrent operation conditions include one or more of the following: a. acurrent time-of-day; b. a current date; c. an identifier of an operatorof the operating platform; d. a current LoS of the operating platformwith respect to the RoI; e. weather conditions at a current location ofthe operating platform and a current time of day; or f. a current HeadMounted Display (HMD) LoS designation with respect to the fixedcoordinate system established in space.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are adjusted, before theirdisplay, to compensate for differences between (a) the current LoS ofthe operating platform with respect to the RoI and (b) the LoS of thesensor carried by the corresponding platform used to capture thecorresponding PCVS with respect to the fixed coordinate systemestablished in space.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the operatingplatform is an airborne platform, a land vehicle, a sea vehicle, or amounted platform mounted on a human user.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the current operation is landing of the airborne platform. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the RoI matching PCVSs are anchored toearth coordinates of the RoI.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the RoIis determined using information of a current Head Mounted Display (HMD)LoS designation of an HMD worn by the operator of the operatingplatform.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the displayed RoI matchingPCVSs are displayed as an overlay over another video.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the processing resource is further configured to:obtain additional indications of additional RoIs; identify one or moreof the PCVSs that include at least part of the additional RoIs,utilizing the LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to additionalRoI matching PCVSs; and display at least part of the additional RoImatching PCVSs, being additional displayed RoI matching PCVSs, on thedisplay of the operating platform as additional overlays over theanother video.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the displayed RoImatching PCVSs are displayed blended with another video.
 16. The systemof claim 1, wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed withcomputer generated symbology.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein thedisplayed RoI matching PCVSs are selected from the RoI matching PCVSsbased on preferences of the operator of the operating platform.
 18. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the processing resource is further configuredto obtain a simulated LoS with respect to the RoI; and wherein thedisplayed RoI matching PCVSs selected from the RoI matching PCVSs alsoutilizing the simulated LoS.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein thesimulated LoS is determined based on an estimation of a location of theoperating platform at a future point in time.
 20. The system of claim18, wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are adjusted, before theirdisplay, to compensate for differences between (a) the simulated LoS ofthe operating platform with respect to the RoI and (b) the Line-of-Sight(LoS) of the sensor carried by the corresponding platform, used tocapture the corresponding PCVS with respect to the fixed coordinatesystem established in space.
 21. The system of claim 1, wherein at leastone of the PCVSs was captured during previous operations of theoperating platform.
 22. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one ofthe PCVSs was captured during previous operations of a given platformother than the operating platform.
 23. The system of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the PCVSs is an enhanced PCVS, generated by combining afirst PCVS with at least part of a second PCVS to provide the enhancesPCVS having enhanced visibility with respect to the first PCVS and thesecond PCVS.
 24. A method for displaying videos, the method comprising:providing a data repository comprising a plurality of previouslycaptured video segments (PCVSs) captured during previous operations ofcorresponding platforms, wherein each of the PCVSs being associated withmetadata indicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by thecorresponding platform of the platforms used to capture thecorresponding PCVS, with respect to a fixed coordinate systemestablished in space, during capturing the corresponding PCVS;obtaining, by a processing resource, an indication of aRegion-of-Interest (RoI); identifying, by the processing resource, oneor more of the PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI, utilizingthe LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoI matching PCVSs;and displaying, by the processing resource, at least part of at leastone of the RoI matching PCVSs, being displayed RoI matching PCVSs, on adisplay of an operating platform to an operator of the operatingplatform during a current operation of the operating platform.
 25. Themethod of claim 24, wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs areidentified so that the at least part of the RoI shown in each of thedisplayed RoI matching PCVSs meets a visibility criterion.
 26. Themethod of claim 24, wherein each of the PCVSs is associated with arespective visibility score, indicative of the visibility of the RoIwithin the respective PCVS, and wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSsare associated with respective visibility scores higher than thevisibility scores of the PCVSs excluding the displayed RoI matchingPCVSs.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the visibility scores areprovided by users.
 28. The method of claim 24, wherein the metadatafurther comprises operation conditions indicative of conditions duringcapturing of the corresponding PCVS, and wherein the method furthercomprises obtaining information of current operation conditions at acurrent time during performance of the current operation, and whereinthe RoI matching PCVSs are identified also utilizing the currentoperation conditions and the operation conditions.
 29. The method ofclaim 28, wherein the operation conditions include one or more of thefollowing: a. a time-of-day at which the corresponding PCVS wascaptured: b. a date at which the corresponding PCVS was captured; c. anidentifier of an operator of the PCVS which operated the platform whenthe corresponding PCVS was captured; d. weather conditions at a locationon which the corresponding PCVS was captured and on the time-of-day inwhich the corresponding PCVS was captured; or e. a Head Mounted Display(HMD) LoS designation when the corresponding PCVS was captured withrespect to the fixed coordinate system established in space.
 30. Themethod of claim 28, wherein the current operation conditions include oneor more of the following: a. a current time-of-day; b. a current date;c. an identifier of an operator of the operating platform; d. a currentLoS of the operating platform with respect to the RoI; e. weatherconditions at a current location of the operating platform and a currenttime of day; or f. a current Head Mounted Display (HMD) LoS designationwith respect to the fixed coordinate system established in space. 31.The method of claim 30, wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs areadjusted, before their display, to compensate for differences between(a) the current LoS of the operating platform with respect to the RoIand (b) the LoS of the sensor carried by the corresponding platform,used to capture the corresponding PCVS with respect to the fixedcoordinate system established in space.
 32. The method of claim 24,wherein the operating platform is an airborne platform, a land vehicle,a sea vehicle, or a mounted platform mounted on a human user.
 33. Themethod of claim 32, wherein the current operation is landing of theairborne platform.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the RoI matchingPCVSs are anchored to earth coordinates of the RoI.
 35. The method ofclaim 24, wherein the RoI is determined using information of a currentHead Mounted Display (HMD) LoS designation of an HMD worn by theoperator of the operating platform.
 36. The method of claim 24, whereinthe displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed as an overlay overanother video.
 37. The method of claim 36, further comprising:obtaining, by the processing resource, additional indications ofadditional RoIs; identifying, by the processing resource, one or more ofthe PCVSs that include at least part of the additional RoIs, utilizingthe LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to additional RoImatching PCVSs; and displaying, by the processing resource, at leastpart of the additional RoI matching PCVSs, being additional displayedRoI matching PCVSs, on the display of the operating platform asadditional overlays over the another video.
 38. The method of claim 24,wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs are displayed blended withanother video.
 39. The method of claim 24, wherein the displayed RoImatching PCVSs are displayed with computer generated symbology.
 40. Themethod of claim 24, wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSs areselected from the RoI matching PCVSs based on preferences of theoperator of the operating platform.
 41. The method of claim 24, furthercomprising obtaining, by the processing resource, a simulated LoS withrespect to the RoI; and wherein the displayed RoI matching PCVSsselected from the RoI matching PCVSs also utilizing the simulated LoS.42. The method of claim 41, wherein the simulated LoS is determinedbased on an estimation of a location of the operating platform at afuture point in time.
 43. The method of claim 41, wherein the displayedRoI matching PCVSs are adjusted, before their display, to compensate fordifferences between (a) the simulated LoS of the operating platform withrespect to the RoI and (b) the Line-of-Sight (LoS) of the sensor carriedby the corresponding platform, used to capture the corresponding PCVSwith respect to the fixed coordinate system established in space. 44.The method of claim 24, wherein at least one of the PCVSs was capturedduring previous operations of the operating platform.
 45. The method ofclaim 24, wherein at least one of the PCVSs was captured during previousoperations of a given platform other than the operating platform. 46.The method of claim 24, wherein at least one of the PCVSs is an enhancedPCVS, generated by combining a first PCVS with at least part of a secondPCVS to provide the enhances PCVS having enhanced visibility withrespect to the first PCVS and the second PCVS.
 47. A system forestimating a position of an operating platform, the system comprising aprocessing resource configured to: provide a data repository comprisinga plurality of previously captured video segments (PCVSs) capturedduring previous operations of corresponding platforms and anchored toearth coordinates, wherein each of the PCVSs being associated withmetadata indicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by thecorresponding platform of the platforms used to capture thecorresponding PCVS, with respect to the earth coordinates, duringcapturing the corresponding PCVS; obtain an indication of aRegion-of-Interest (RoI) and an image captured by a scene sensing sensorof the operating platform, the image including the RoI; identify one ormore of the PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI, utilizing theLoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoI matching PCVSs; anddetermine the position of the operating platform by comparing the imagewith at least one frame of at least one of the RoI matching PCVSs.
 48. Amethod for estimating a position of an operating platform, the methodcomprising: providing a data repository comprising a plurality ofpreviously captured video segments (PCVSs) captured during previousoperations of corresponding platforms and anchored to earth coordinates,wherein each of the PCVSs being associated with metadata indicative of aLine-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by the corresponding platformof the platforms used to capture the corresponding PCVS, with respect tothe earth coordinates, during capturing the corresponding PCVS;obtaining, by a processing resource, an indication of aRegion-of-Interest (RoI) and an image captured by a scene sensing sensorof the operating platform, the image including the RoI; identifying, bya processing resource, one or more of the PCVSs that include at leastpart of the RoI, utilizing the LoSs associated with the PCVSs, givingrise to RoI matching PCVSs; and determining, by a processing resource,the position of the operating platform by comparing the image with atleast one frame of at least one of the RoI matching PCVSs.
 49. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readableprogram code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code,executable by at least one processor of a computer to perform a methodcomprising: providing a data repository comprising a plurality ofpreviously captured video segments (PCVSs) captured during previousoperations of corresponding platforms, wherein each of the PCVSs beingassociated with metadata indicative of a Line-of-Sight (LoS) of asensor, carried by the corresponding platform of the platforms used tocapture the corresponding PCVS, with respect to a fixed coordinatesystem established in space, during capturing the corresponding PCVS;obtaining, by a processing resource, an indication of aRegion-of-Interest (RoI); identifying, by the processing resource, oneor more of the PCVSs that include at least part of the RoI, utilizingthe LoSs associated with the PCVSs, giving rise to RoI matching PCVSs;and displaying, by the processing resource, at least part of at leastone of the RoI matching PCVSs, being displayed RoI matching PCVSs, on adisplay of an operating platform to an operator of the operatingplatform during a current operation of the operating platform.
 50. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readableprogram code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code,executable by at least one processor of a computer to perform a methodcomprising: providing a data repository comprising a plurality ofpreviously captured video segments (PCVSs) captured during previousoperations of corresponding platforms and anchored to earth coordinates,wherein each of the PCVSs being associated with metadata indicative of aLine-of-Sight (LoS) of a sensor, carried by the corresponding platformof the platforms used to capture the corresponding PCVS, with respect tothe earth coordinates, during capturing the corresponding PCVS;obtaining, by a processing resource, an indication of aRegion-of-Interest (RoI) and an image captured by a scene sensing sensorof the operating platform, the image including the RoI; identifying, bya processing resource, one or more of the PCVSs that include at leastpart of the RoI, utilizing the LoSs associated with the PCVSs, givingrise to RoI matching PCVSs; and determining, by a processing resource,the position of the operating platform by comparing the image with atleast one frame of at least one of the RoI matching PCVSs.